A Lifetime of Learning and Support

“Why doesn’t she talk?” My great-grandfather, blind, is bouncing my kid sister on his knee, supporting her tiny body with his giant gnarled hands. I was eight years old at the time. I don’t remember my parents’ response, but his question stuck in my mind. What I do remember is my parents being told by our local public school “Keep her home Mr. Coplan, we have nothing for your daughter” (PL 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was still a decade away). And I was impacted by my their struggle to deal with their emotions at a time when disability was regarded as a terrible stigma, never to be discussed openly (Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck had only recently published her ground-breaking memoir The Child Who Never Grew, describing her own emotional journey as the parent of a child with disabilities). Thus was laid the foundation of my career as a developmental pediatrician, focused on helping not only children with developmental disabilities but their families to grow and develop optimally.

I completed my undergraduate training at Dartmouth College, medical school at New York Medical College (then located in Manhattan), pediatric residency at Hartford Hospital (now part of the University of Connecticut Medical School) and two years as a commissioned officer running a general practice in the National Health Service Corps. It didn’t bother me to have to get a consultation in, say, cardiology or orthopedic surgery for one of my patients, but it bothered me not to know how to help the kids with delays. Even though I didn’t “like” child development at the time, I realized that this was a message from deep within my brain telling me “You want to know more about this!” So, upon completing my time in the Corps I took a fellowship in Child Development at the John F. Kennedy Center (now the Kennedy-Krieger Institute) at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore. From there I was recruited to head the child development section at the State University of New York in Syracuse (now Upstate Medical University). After nearly two decades in Syracuse I was recruited to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where I served as director of a LEND (“Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities”), a multidisciplinary training program for physicians and allied health providers working together on behalf of children with special needs. After serving as LEND director for several years I opened a private practice – Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics of the Main Line, which I ran until I retired from clinical practice in 2014.

Along the way I earned specialty certification from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and subspecialty certification in both Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. I have published papers on various aspects of early child development (see my CV), the Early Language Milestone Scale (a screening test for early language development), and Making Sense of Autism Spectrum Disorders, a hardcover book for parents of children on the autism spectrum. I also developed a deep love for the kids and their families. I miss them still.

Although I no longer render direct patient care, I continue to write and offer general advice to parents of children with special needs, and to adults on the autism spectrum.

My bride of 50-plus years and I reside in North Carolina, where I indulge my lifelong passion for model trains. All aboard!

James Coplan, M.D. Curriculum Vitae

Revised July 23, 2019

Contact Information:

Citizenship: US

Education:

  • 1969: BA, Dartmouth College (Government)
  • 1973: MD, New York Medical College

Postgraduate Training and Fellowship Appointments:

  •  7/73-6/74: PL-1 in Pediatrics, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT
  • 7/74-6/75: PL-2 in Pediatrics, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT
  • 7/77-6/79: Fellow, Developmental Pediatrics, John F. Kennedy Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Military Service:

  • 7/75-6/77: Medical Officer (04); National Health Service Corps

Faculty Appointments:

  • 11/75-6/77: Clinical Assistant in Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY
  • 7/79-4/84: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
  • 5/84-6/97: Associate Professor of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
  • 6/97-6/98: Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
  • 6/99-6/30/2004: Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
  •  9/29/10 – 8/1/2014: Clinical Associate Professor of Child Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

Faculty Appointments (ctd):

  • 7/1/06 – 9/1/2016: Adjunct Associate Professor of Nursing, Associated Faculty, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Hospital and Administrative Appointments:

  • 7/79-6/97: Medical Staff, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital, Syracuse, New York 7/79-6/97: Chief, Division of Child Development, Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York-Health Science Center at Syracuse
  • 11/79-6/97: Medical Staff (Pediatrics), Crouse-Irving Memorial Hospital, Syracuse, NY
  • 1979-85: Developmental consultant, Perinatal Center Newborn Follow-up clinic, Crouse-Irving Memorial Hospital, Syracuse, NY
  • 4/80-6/97: Medical Staff, Enable (Syracuse affiliate, United Cerebral Palsy Association)
  • 1983-85: Medical Staff, Developmental Evaluation Center, Syracuse, NY
  • 11/84-6/95: Co-director, Neurofibromatosis Clinic, State University Hospital, Syracuse, NY
  • 1989-1992: Director, NY State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Fellowship in Child Development, Syracuse, NY
  • 7/97-6/30/2004:Medical staff, Children’s Seashore House, Philadelphia, PA
  • 7/97-6/30/2004: Director, Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND), Children’s Seashore House of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
  • 7/97-6/30/2004: Medical staff, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Private Employment

  • Owner, Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics of the Main Line, PC, 2004-2014

Specialty and Subspecialty Certification:

  • American Board of Pediatrics: Pediatrics; 1978-present
  • American Board of Pediatrics, and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology: Neurodevelopmental Disabilities; 2001-2014
  • American Board of Pediatrics: Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics; 2002-2014

Medical Licensure:

  • New York: 1975 - 1997
  • Pennsylvania: 1975 - present (inactive as of 12/31/2014; retired from office practice)

Awards, Honors, and Membership in Honorary Societies

  • 1995 Ellen Rudy Clore Excellence in Writing Award
  • Teaching Honor Roll, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
  • “Top Docs” award, Philadelphia Magazine, 2008, 2009, 2010
  • Physician Honoree, Variety - The Children’s Charity, Philadelphia Chapter, 2008

Professional and Scientific Societies

  • Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1982-present
  • Fellow, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, 1980-present
  • Fellow, Society for Behavioral Pediatrics, 1980-present
  • Fellow, Child Neurology Society, 2006-present
  • Member, Society for Developmental Pediatrics, 1979-present
  • Member, Autism Society of America, 1994-present

Editorial Positions:

  • 1983-2014: Manuscript reviewer, Pediatrics
  • 1985: Guest editor, Pediatric Annals, Speech and Language

Academic Committees (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Doctoral Dissertation Committee, Jackie McGrath MSN, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania (1999)

Academic Committees (The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; 6/1997 – 6/2004)

  • Continuing Medical Education Committee
  • Electronic Medical Records Security and Access Committee

Major Teaching Responsibilities

7/1979-6/1997

  • Director, Division of Child Development, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center

6/1997 – 6/2004

  • Director, Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND; http://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=6 ). LEND trains 12 to 15 full-time Fellows, and approximately 300 short-term trainees per year in eleven disciplines: Pediatrics, Pediatric Dentistry, Psychology, Speech, Audiology, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Health Care Administration, Nursing and Nutrition. LEND is supported by a grant from the US Bureau of Maternal and Child Health.
  • Director of Residency Training in Child Development, Children’s Seashore House / The Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania

7/2004-2014

  • Dr. Coplan taught within the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, and offered an observational field experience to Fellows in Child Psychiatry and Masters level trainees from the School of Nursing.

Lectures by Invitation (partial listing):

  • Atypicality, Nonverbal IQ, and Age: Seeing Autism Spectrum Disorders in Three Dimensions. National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference, Orlando, FL November 2-5, 2011.
  • Importance of Cognitive Rigidity and Parent-Child Interaction when Diagnosing and Treating Complex Cases of ADHD with Anxiety, Atypicality, and/or Externalizing Behavior Disorder, 23rd Annual CHADD International Conference on ADHD, November 12, 2011 (with Vera Joffe, Ph.D.)
  • Behavior Management and Psychopharmacology in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders OCALI (Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence), Annual Conference, November 16-18, 2011
  • Autistic Spectrum Disorder – Putting the Pieces Together. Daylong workshop, Kidz Therapy Services, PLLC, Long Island, NY. December 3, 2011
  • Behavior Management and Psychopharmacology for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Council for Exception Children Annual Convention & Expo, Denver, CO from April 11th- 14th, 2012
  • Treatments for Persons with ASD Across the Lifespan: One Size Does Not Fit All! Gwynedd-Mercy College Fifth Annual Autism Institute Conference, April 14th, 2012
  • Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (full day workshop); Autism Society of Northwest Ohio annual Practical Solutions to Everyday Challenges in Autism workshop series, April 21, 2012
  • Behavior Management and Psychopharmacology in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders; 6th Annual Autism Conference: Building Bridges: Supportive Practices from Birth to Adulthood. LaSalle University, Philadelphia PA, May 4, 2012
  • Working Back from Behavior: What to do Next (5/5/12) and Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (5/6/12); Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL
  • Sense and Nonsense in the Treatment of Autistic Spectrum Disorders. The Autism Society of America-Manhattan Chapter, June 7 2012
  • Behavior Management and Psychopharmacology for children on the autism spectrum; Autism New Jersey, October 11, 2012
  • Seeing ASD in 3D – A lifespan perspective; Asperger and High Functioning Autism of New York (AHANY); Islip, October 22, 2012
  • Seeing ASD in 3D – A Lifespan Perspective on Autism Spectrum Disorder. Webinar for Rethink Autism November 28, 2012
  • The Developmental Course of Autism Spectrum Disorder Impacts Intervention Selection. Half-day workshop at the 2013 Annual National Association of School Psychologists’ annual national convention; Seattle, Washington, 2/14/13
  • Autism: Medical and Educational Management of Challenging Behavior. Co-presenter, 2 hour workshop, Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo, San Antonio TX, April 5, 2013
  • Behavior Management and Psychopharmacology in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) 34th Annual Conference on Pediatric Health Care, Orlando FL, 4/18/2013
  • Two presentations: Recognizing Medical Quackery in the Care of Persons with IDD (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities), and Transition to Adulthood for Persons on the Autism Spectrum. Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association (DDNA) annual national convention, Philadelphia PA 4/28/2013
  • Family Mental Health – The Springboard to Success for the Child with ASD. Nationally distributed webinar for Rethink Autism, September 25, 2013
  • Workshops: Autism Spectrum Disorder across the Life Span, Behavior Management & Psychopharmacology in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Mental Health and Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Elephant in the Room. 30th Annual Colin J. Condron, MD Care of the Sick Child Conference, Orlando FL, November 13th-15th, 2013
  • Autism and Mental Illness. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) national teleconference, 12/20/2013
  • All-day workshop: Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Los Angeles County Office of Education, Los Angeles CA, 2/17/2014
  • Two workshops: Mental Health Issues in ASD, and Impact of the DSM-V on Classifying and Serving Children with ASD, National Association of School Psychologists) Annual Convention, Washington, DC, 2/20/2014
  • Problem Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder; nationally distributed webinar for Rethink Autism, 3/19/2014
  • Preventing the Next Adam Lanza and Elliot Rodger. Dr. Coplan interviewed by Marianne Russo of “The Coffee Klatch” on the Special Needs Talk Radio Network, June 8, 2014
  • Mental Illness in ASD: The Elephant in the Room. Milestones Annual Autism Spectrum Disorder Conference, June 18th-19th, 2014, Cleveland, OH
  • Mental Health Disorders in ASD – the Elephant in the Room. 45th annual Autism Society of America conference, July 25, 2014, Indianapolis, IN
  • Beyond the DSM5: Achieving the Best Outcome for Children with ASD. Full-day workshop, Ohio School Psychologists Association) Fall Conference at the Columbus /Polaris Hilton Hotel in November 7, 2014, Columbus, OH.
  • Beyond Access, Attention, and Escape. Behavior management and the emotional needs of children on the autism spectrum. Autism Society of America, Baltimore-Chesapeake Chapter, April 18, 2015
  • Family Health: The springboard to success for children with ASD. Autism Society of America, Baltimore-Chesapeake Chapter, April 18, 2015
  • Autism: What have we learned in the past 125 years? Six hour platform presentation; Summer Autism Institute, University of Vermont; Burlington VT 6/25/2015
  • Normal Behavior Problems in Childhood. Region 8 Education Services Center, Pittsburg Texas; August 3, 2015
  • When is behavior not “behavioral”? Neurodevelopmental drivers of maladaptive behavior in children with special needs. Region 8 Education Services Center, Pittsburg Texas; August 3, 2015
  • Mental Health and Behavior Challenges in ASD: Impact and Intervention; Council for Exceptional Children – Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities annual national conference, Honolulu HI, 1/20/2016
  • Working With Families Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders; National Association of School Psychologists annual national conference, New Orleans, LA, 2/13/2016
  • High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome Across the Lifespan. ASCEND, Philadelphia, Keynote Address, 11/12/2016

Community Service

  • Advisory Board, Autism Resource Center, Variety - the Children's Charity, Philadelphia Chapter; 2009-2014

Bibliography

Research Publications (peer reviewed):

Coplan J, Grimes CT, Richman R, et al. Hearing Loss After Therapy with Radiation. American Journal of Diseases of Children 135:1066-1067, 1981.

Coplan J. Parental Estimate of Child's Developmental Level in High Risk Population. American Journal of Diseases of Children; 136:101-104, 1982.

Coplan J. Three Pitfalls in the Early Diagnosis of Mental Retardation. Clinical Pediatrics: 21(5):308-310, 1982.

Coplan J, Gleason J, Ryan R, et al. Validation of an Early Language Milestone Scale in a High Risk Population. Pediatrics; 70:677-683, 1982.

Reitman MA, Casper J, Coplan J, et al. Motor Disorders of Voice and Speech in Reye's Syndrome Survivors. American Journal of Diseases of Children; 138:1129-1131, 1984.

Coplan J. Wrongful Life and Wrongful Birth; New Concepts for the Pediatrician. Pediatrics; 75:65-72, 1985.

Coplan J. Deafness: Ever heard of it? Delayed recognition of permanent hearing loss. Pediatrics; 79:206-213, 1987.

Williams M, Lewandowski L, Coplan J, et al. Neurodevelopmental outcome of preschool children born preterm with and without intracranial hemorrhage. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology; 29:243-249, 1987.

Coplan J and Gleason JR. Unclear speech: Recognition and significance of unintelligible speech in preschool children. Pediatrics; 82 (pt. 2):447 452, 1988.

Coplan J and Gleason JR. Quantifying language development from birth to three using the Early Language Milestone Scale. Pediatrics; 86:963 971, 1990.

Jerome MA, Honig S, and Coplan J. Validation of the Early Language Milestone Scale in a low risk population. Preventive Pediatrics; 1(3) 99 103, 1991.

Coplan J and Gleason JR. Test retest and interobserver reliability of the Early Language Milestone Scale, second edition (ELM Scale 2). Journal of Pediatric Health Care; 7:212-219, 1993.

Church C and Coplan J. The High Functioning Autistic Experience: Birth to Preteen Years. J. Pediatric Health Care; 9:22, 29, 1995.

Coplan J, Dye TD, Contello KA et al. Failure to identify HIV-Seropositive newborns: Epidemiology and enrollment patterns in a predominantly white, non-urban setting. Pediatrics 6:1083-1089, 1995.

Richman RA, Sheehe PR, Wallace MA, Hyde JM, and Coplan J. Olfactory performance during childhood. II. Developing a discrimination task for children. Journal of Pediatrics; 127:421-6, 1995.

Coplan J, Contello KA, Cunningham CK, Weiner LB, Roberge L, Wojtowycz MA, and Kirkwood K. Early language development in children exposed to or infected with human immunodeficiency virus. Pediatrics 1998, 102:e8.

Coplan J. Counseling parents regarding prognosis in autistic spectrum disorder. Pediatrics 2000; 105:5. URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/105/5/e65

Levy SE, Souders M, Wray J, Jawad AF, Gallagher PR, Coplan J, Belchic JK, Gerdes M, Mitchell R and Mulberg AE. I. Comparison of Placebo and Single Dose of Human Synthetic Secretin in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 88(8):731-6, 2003 Aug.

Coplan J, Souders MC, Mulberg AE, Belchic JK, Wray J, Jawad AF, Gallagher PR, Mitchell R, Gerdes M and Levy SE. II. Parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders are unable to distinguish secretin from placebo under double-blind conditions Archives of Diseases of Childhood. 88(8):737-9, 2003 Aug.

Coplan, J. Atypicality, intelligence, and age: a conceptual model of autistic spectrum disorders. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. Devel Med Child Neurol 2003; 45:712-716.

Coplan J and Jawad A. Modeling clinical outcome of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Pediatrics 116 (1): 117-122, July 2005

Editorials, Reviews, Chapters:

Coplan J. Evaluation of the child with delayed speech and language. Pediatric Annals; 14(3):202-209, 1985.

Coplan J. Evaluation of the child with deafness or delayed speech. Indian Journal of Pediatrics; 55:372-378, 1988.

Coplan J. New Developments: Child Development. Current Problems in Pediatrics; 23(2) 44-49, 1993.

Coplan J. Speech, language and hearing disorders. In Green M and Haggerty RJ (eds.), Ambulatory Pediatrics, 4th ed. WB Saunders, Philadelphia l990

Coplan J. Disorders of Speech and Language. Pediatrics in Review;16:91-100, 1995.

Coplan J. Evaluation of the child with delayed language or speech. In Stockman JA III (ed.), Difficult Diagnoses in Pediatrics, WB Saunders, Philadelphia 1990.

Coplan J. Language Delays. In Parker S and Zuckerman B (eds.). Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics: A Handbook for Primary Care. Little Brown, Boston, 1995.

Coplan, J. Disorders of Voice, Speech or Language. In Burg FD. Current Pediatric Therapy, 15th edition WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1995.

Coplan J. Expressive language delay in a toddler. J Devel Behav Pediatr 16(5), 372-373, 1995.

Coplan, J. Voice, Speech and Language Disorders. In Burg FD, Ingelfinger R, Wald ER and Polin RA (eds.). Current Pediatric Therapy, 16th edition WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1999, p 425-429.

Coplan, J. Speech and language disorders. In Green M and Haggerty RJ (eds.), Ambulatory Pediatrics V ; WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1999, p 259-262

Coplan J. Speech disorders other than stuttering. In Stockman JAS III, and Lohr JA (eds.), Essence of Office Pediatrics. Philadelphia, WB Saunders, 2000., p 382

Blum NJ, Clayton M, Coplan J. "Behavior and Development" In: Polin R. and Ditmar MF (ed). Pediatric Secrets, 3rd Ed. Philadelphia, Hanley & Belfus, Inc., 2001, 31-69.

Coplan, J. Voice, Speech and Language Disorders. In Burg FD, Ingelfinger R, Wald ER and Polin RA (eds.). Current Pediatric Therapy, 17th edition WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 2002; 402-405

Coplan J and Trachtenberg S. Getting the diagnosis. In Batshaw ML (ed.) When your child has a disability, 2nd ed. Baltimore, Paul H. Brookes Pub Co, 2002.

Coplan J. Language Delays. In Parker S and Zuckerman B (eds.). Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics: A Handbook for Primary Care, second edition. Little Brown, Boston, 2004.

Coplan, J. The Natural History of Autistic Spectrum Disorders. The Advocate, 41(1), 2006; 26-30.

Coplan J. Language Delays. Augustyn, M, Zuckerman, B, and Caronna E (eds). Zuckerman and Parker’s Handbook of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, third edition. Little Brown, Boston (2010).

Books:

Coplan J. The Early Language Milestone Scale; Tulsa, Modern Education Corporation, Tulsa, 1983.

Coplan J. The Early Language Milestone Scale, second edition (ELM-2), PRO-ED, Austin 1993.

Coplan, J. Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders-Create the brightest future for your child with the best treatment options; © James Coplan, 2010, Bantam-Dell

Alternative and Electronic Media:

Coplan, J: Speech and Language Disorders from Birth to Three Years. Two hour cassette tape produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics, publication AAP-58, 1987.

Coplan J: The Early Language Milestone Scale (training videotape). Tulsa, Modern Education Corporation, 1983; revised 1987.

Coplan, J. Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders; blog, Psychology Today http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/making-sense-autistic-spectrum-disorders

Webinar: The Autism Explosion. http://www.rethinkautism.com originally aired on April 4th, 2012

Website and Blog: https://www.drcoplan.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesCoplanAutismSpectrumDisorders/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jcoplan48